Lightning kills 13 domestic animals in Austria

Lightning kills 13 domestic animals in Austria

Helicopters airlifted the carcasses of 13 cattle out of a valley in southern Austria on Monday, after the animals were killed in a violent lightning storm, authorities said.

Officials said the cattle were killed Sunday when the storm swept through the valley near St. Oswald in the southern province of Carinthia. The Interior Ministry sent a helicopter so the carcasses could be removed.

Some of the cattle survived the lightning strikes, but were so badly injured they had to be euthanized, authorities said.

Local officials put the loss at an estimated EUR 25,000 (US$34,000).